Forming and bending tool with removable bending pin



Aug. 12, 1958 H. E. SUT'CLIFFE 2,847,054

FORMING AND smunmc TOOL wmx REMOVABLE BENDING PIN Filed 001' 5, 1956 INVEN TOR. [Ker-01a E. .fi'afZ-Zif/I:

awaw United States Patent FORMING AND BENDING TOOL WITH REMOVABLEBENDING PIN Harold E. Sutclitfe, Hope, R. I., assignor to WeldmoreCompany, Inc., a corporation of Rhode Island Application October 5,1956, Serial No. 614,297

4 Claims. (Cl. 153-46) The present invention relates generally toforming and bending apparatus, and has particular reference to anon-production type tool readily adaptable for home and light shop use.

A primary object of the instant invention is the provision of a formingand bending tool which may be easily manipulated to bend elongated rodsand bars into a wide variety of shapes and curvatures.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a forming and bendingtool that is capable of bending, by manual means, high-strengthmaterial, such as tool steel rods and bars.

Another important object of the instant invention is the provision of atool of the character described having a high degree of strength anddurability, whereby it is capable of bending tubular and pipe stock andalso may be readily adapted for the bending of sheet metal and the like.

A further object, of the instant invention is the provision of a formingand bending tool that is relatively. light and compact, and which hencemay be easily carried around for use at any desired location.

Still another object, of my invention is the provision of forming andbending apparatus adapted to be manually operated, which apparatus isrelatively inexpensive to manufacture, and which additionally isextremely simple and versatile in operation.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered inconnection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

in the drawingswhich illustrate the best mode presently contemplated byme, for carrying out my invention:

Fig. l is a plan view of bending and forming apparatus constructed inaccordance with the instant invention;

Fig 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a perspective detail of the slidable bearing element whichforms a part of my invention;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective detail of the. bean ing handle whichforms a part, of the. instant invention;

Fig. 5-, is a fragmentary view, partly in, section, showing the centerpin and pivotal, interconnection between the relatively rotatable armswhich form, a part ofthe instant invention; and,

g- 6 is zp r pfiqtivedetail of, a modified bending pin which may be usedin CQnnection with the instant invention.

It hasbeen found desirableto provide a forming and bending tool ofhighly simplified construction which may be manually operated to providea wide variety of bending and forming operations, and particularly, thebending of elongated bars and rods. Prior art apparatus of this type,such as, for example, apparatus known as the Di-Acre Benderfis not onlylarge and cumbersome and relatively expensive, but also lacks thedesired versatility, since all bends are made on a flat" surface. This2,847,054 Patented Aug. 12, 1958 prior art type of apparatus has beendesigned primarily for production precision bending, and whileadvantageous to that end, it falls far short in meeting the need for aninexpensive, portable, easily-operable tool, particularly adaptable fornon-production work, such as home and light shop use. The instantinvention is directed toward the fulfillment of this need, and while notdirected toward the provision of apparatus capable of doing critical andhigh-precision type bending, the instant invention nevertheless hasproven to be particularly useful in connection with such jobs as thebending and forming of Wrought-iron furniture, the forming of hangingrods for pipes and the like in connection with steam fitting work, andother similar operations wherein the bends, curves, and angles beingformed are not highly critical. Furthermore, as will hereinafter becomeapparent, the instant invention is highly versatile, since the bendingoperation is not performed on a fiat surface, and hence, a single givenrod, bar or wire may be provided with a plurality of widely assortedbends and curves extending in a number of dilferent planes. In addition,my apparatus may be readily and easily adjusted to receive rods and barsof different thicknesses, and means are also provided whereby the radiusof curvature being effected may be varied. The simplicity, ease ofoperation, inexpensiveness, versatility, and rugged durability of mynovel and improved forming and bending tool will readily become apparentas the detailed description of my invention proceeds with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be noted that my forming andbending tool comprises a pair of elongated arms 10 and 12, preferably,but not necessarily, square in cross section. As will be seen mostclearly from Fig. l, the arm 10 is provided at one of its extremitieswith a slightly offset circular portion 14, having an internallythreaded opening 16 extending centrally therethrough (note Fig. 5). Atthe corresponding end of the arm 12 there is provided an upwardlyextending threaded stud 18 which is adapted to threadedly engage withinthe aforedescribed aperture 16, whereby the arms 10 and 12 are pivotallyconnected to each other for relative rotation. Stud 18 is provided witha centrally disposed bore 20, within which is positioned an elongatedbending pin 22, said pin extending substantially above the upper surfaceof the arm 10, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

Slidably mounted on the arm 12 is a bearing post assembly generallydesignated at 24 (Fig. 3) and comprising upper and lower bar members 26and 28, respectively, which members are joined together at adjacentcorners by means of posts 30 and 32 welded or otherwise secured thereto.As will be apparent, the members 26 and 28 are preferably of squarecross section and are adapted to slidingly engage opposite surfaces ofthe arm 12. The posts 30 and 32 are likewise spaced apart sufiicientlyfor the assembly 24 to be slidably mounted on the arm 12 until thedesired position is reached, as hereinafter to be more fully described.

As will be noted, when the assembly 24 is slidably moved to operativeposition, the posts 30 and 32 are located at the end of the assembly 24which is most closely adjacent to the pivot between arms 10 and 12. Themembers 26 and 28 are not joined at their opposite ends in any way, andhence the assembly 24 may pivot slightly with respect to its arm 12(note Fig. 1) .until the posts'30 and 32 grip opposite sides of said arm12 whereby to: prevent further pivotal movement.

Slidably mounted on the arm 10 is a handle assembly, generallydesignated at 34 (note Fig. 4), which assembly comprises a' bottom barmember 36 that is identical in configuration to the aforedescribed lowermember 28 of the assembly 24. The assembly 34 further comprises a handlemember 38 of elongated bar-like configuration having at its inner end(the end nearest the pivot of arms and 12) a slightly offset arrowhead40, the surface 42 of which is adapted to engage and exert the bendingforce on wire or rod to be formed, in a manner hereafter to be madeapparent. As will be noted, the handle 38 and the member 36 are joinedtogether by posts 44 and 46', which posts may be integrally formed withrespect to head 49, and which may depend therefrom into securement withthe member 36 by means of welding or the like. The assembly 34 issimilar to the aforedescribed assembly 24 in that it is dimensioned soas to be slidably mounted on the arm 10, and when in mounted position,the member 36 underlies bar litl, while the handle 38 is disposedthereover. The posts 44 and 46 are spaced apart sufliciently so as toenable the assembly 34 to be readily mounted on arm 16), and when somounted, a slight amount of relative pivotal movement is possible untilthe handle 38 reaches a position shown in Fig. 1, at which time theposts 44 and 46 clamp against opposite sides of the arm 10 to restrictfurther pivotal movement of assembly 34.

As will be seen most clearly in Fig. 1, the post 32 of assembly 24 issomewhat longer than its companion post 30, whereby said post at itsupper operative end terminates in a plane substantially flush with theupper surface of handle 38. While it will be noted that center bendingor bearing pin 22 also terminates in the same plane, it will beunderstood that this is not absolutely necessary. Actually, the onlything that is important is that the post 32, bearing pin 22, and bendingsurface 42 extend upwardly from the upper surface of arm 10 for at leastas great a distance as the height of the stock to be bent and formed. Inother words, where rods or bars are to be bent, it is only necessarythat the members 32, 22, and 42 extend above the upper surface of thearm 10 for a greater distance than the thickness of said rods or bars,whereas if a sheet is to be formed, said members would have to extendupwardly for a distance at least equal to the height of said sheet stockwhen placed on edge on the upper surface of arm 10.

In operation and use, the assemblies 24 and 34 are slidably mounted ontheir arms 12 and 10, respectively, until they reach substantially thepositions shown in Fig. I. It is important to note that the handle 38overlies the arm 10, and also that the assembly 24 is positioned so thatits posts 30 and 32 are located nearest the pivot of the arms 10 and 12.The rod to be bent, shown in dotted lines at 48, is then placed inposition on the upper surface of the arm 10, or more specifically, onthe upper surface of circular portion 14. When so positioned, it will benoted that the center bearing pin 22 is in engagement with one side ofrod 48, while bearing post 32 and bearing surface 42 engage the oppositeside thereof, while furthermore, the pin 22 is positioned intermediatepost 32 and surface 42. The arm 12 is then securely gripped by anysuitable support means, such as a vise 50 or the like, and then thehandle 38 is manually grasped and rotated in a clockwise direction asshown by the arrow in Fig. 1. As will be obvious, as soon as the handle38 is so rotated, the assembly 34 will have pivoted relative to its arm10 to the maximum possible extent, whereupon posts 44 and 46 willsecurely grip opposite sides of the arm 10 whereby to preventundesirable sliding movement of the assembly 34 during the bendingopertion. At the same time, a clockwise torque will be imparted to theassembly 24, since the rod 48 will be bearing against the post 32,whereupon said assembly 24 will pivot to the position shown in Fig. l,in which position the posts 32 and 30 will securely clamp againstopposite sides of arm 12, thus preventing undesirable sliding movementof this particular assembly during the bending operation. As the handle38 is moved to the dotted-line position of Fig. l, carrying with it itsarm 10, the rod 48 will be bent around the pin 22 as shown. Aftercompletion of the bending operation, it is simply necessary to releasethe pressure on the handle 38, whereupon the assembly 34 may he slidoutwardly along the arm 10, after which the bent rod may easily bemanually removed.

Since the elements of my invention as aforedescribed are subjected toconsiderable stresses and strains during the bending operation, andparticularly the posts 32 and 22, it is essential that my constructionbe characterized by a high degree of toughness, and a low degree ofbrittleness. It has been found that hardened mild steel will adequatelyperform the desired operation, although it may be preferable to usestainless steel for the post 32 and pin 22. Should a different radiusbend be required, it is simply necessary to remove the pin 22 from itsaperture 20 and insert therein a different pin, such as shown at 52 inFig. 6. As will be obvious, by varying the diameter of the upper portionof the pin 52, such as shown at the enlarged portion 54, practically anydesired radius bend can be obtained. Also, while it is not absolutelyessential that the'arm 12 be threadedly mounted within the arm 10 toeffect the desired relative pivotal movement, it has been found thatbest results are obtained from this arrangement, since additionalbearing surface is obtained during said pivotal movement. It will beunderstood in this connection, however, that the arm 10 is sufficientlyspaced above the arm 12 so as not to bind thereagainst during relativeturning movement of the parts.

Thus it will be seen that there has been provided in accordance with theinstant invention a highly simplified yet effective forming and bendingtool. The slidable relation between the assemblies 24 and 34 and theirrespective arms 12 and 10, readily enables the apparatus to be adaptedfor bending different thicknesses of rod or bar, and the specificconstruction of these assemblies, namely, the spaced bars 26, 28 and 36,38, insures that no undesirable vertical play will exist during thebending operation. As will be apparent, my device is easily portable andcan be made in a wide variety of sizes, depending upon the particulartype of work to be done. Thus, a relatively small device could beconstructed for the forming and bending of light articles, such as fishhooks and the like, while my apparatus would be of larger proportion anddimensions where heavy sheet and rod stock or piping is to be formed.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structureembodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the artthat various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventiveconcept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms hereinshown and described except in so far as indicated by the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A forming and bending tool of the character described comprising apair of elongated arms, one of said arms having a circular portion atone extremity thereof, an opening extending through said circularportion, said other arm having an upstanding stud at one end thereof,said opening rotatably receiving said stud whereby said arms areconnected to each other for pivotal movement, an axial bore in saidstud, an elongated pin removably mounted in said bore and extendingtherefrom, and abutment means carried by said arms intermediate thelength thereof and extending in the direction of said pin.

2. A forming and bending tool as set forth in claim 1 furthercharacterized in that said abutment means are each slidably mounted ontheir respective arm.

3. A forming and bending tool as set forth in claim 1 furthercharacterized in that said circular portion is offset with respect tothe longitudinal axis of its arm.

4. A forming and bending tool as set forth in claim 1 furthercharacterized in that said opening and said stud are threadedlyinterconnected.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Peal-dAug. 11, 1903

